Discussion Topics

Internalized Racism

Definition:Internalized racism is the personal conscious or subconscious acceptance of the dominant society’s racist views, stereotypes and biases of one’s ethnic group. It gives rise to patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving that result in discriminating, minimizing, criticizing, finding fault, invalidating, and hating oneself while simultaneously valuing the dominant culture.

Media Links and Discussion

Audience: High School Seniors/College Students/AdultsContent: Margaret Cho discusses how her childhood dreams were limited due to the limited and stereotyped ways Asians were portrayed in the media
Discussion questions:

How do images of a group in the media (or in toys, books, video games) influence what we learn that we are or can be?

Can you remember seeing images that looked like yourself growing up? What were they? How did that impact you?

Audience: High School/College Students/Adults
Content: Tyra Banks confronts an Asian American woman who had surgery to make her eyes look more like the Euro/American ideal of beauty.
Discussion questions:

What are ways in which people are teased for physical characteristics?

Tyra Banks talks about "ethnic tweaking" to look more Caucasian. What are examples of this?

The doctor and another guest mention European standards of beauty. What are some of the underlying messages for people in our society? How might these messages impact people of color?

Audience: High School/College Students/Adults
Content: Individuals will see an example of an African American condemning another African American and speaking bigotry as if it were fact (has explicit language)
Discussion questions:

How would you characterize uncle Ruckus?

How does he feel about Blacks?

What views do you hold about African Americans that may be untrue and/or hurtful?

Can you think of instances where other African Americans or minorities have shown racism towards each other?

Audience: Middle School /High School/ College Students/Adults
Content: Short clip utilizing morphing technology to illustrate Michael Jackson’s physical transformation from Africentric features to more Eurocentric features
Discussion questions:

“If this is what’s happening on the outside, what’s happening on the inside?”

Is this representative of internalized racism?

What is the standard of beauty in America and what are the implications for African Americans and other ethnic minority groups?

How do African Americans deny or minimize traditional African features? (perms, skin bleaching, hair weaving, colored contacts, etc.) What effect, if any, do such practices have on African American self-esteem?)